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November 2006
No Braves offer yet for Glavine
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tom Glavine wants to rejoin the Braves and the Braves want the 40-year-old left-hander back in their starting rotation. But as of late Tuesday, a signing seemed far from imminent _ in fact, there was reason to doubt if it would happen at all.
First and foremost, the Braves still had not made an offer to Glavine.
“There’s been a few very pleasant conversations with the Braves, who have expressed interest in having Tommy back,” agent Gregg Clifton said near midnight, “but as of now, no formal discussions about any terms that the Braves would be wiling to offer Tom for him to return.”
Braves GM John Schuerholz told me earlier Tuesday that he wouldn’t discuss Glavine because he never discusses free agents (I knew this would be his answer, but had to ask). John did tell me that as of Tuesday afternoon, nothing _ no trade or free-agent signing _ was imminent, though he said that could certainly change with one phone call at any time.
He also said the Braves expected all along to improve their roster via trades rather than free-agent signings, because of payroll constraints and the exploding free-agent market.
Glavine’s agent said he had only casual conversations with the Braves, and no dollar figures had even been mentioned. He scoffed at an internet rumor Tuesday night that claimed Glavine had agreed to an $8 million deal with the Braves.
Clifton said there have been no offers made yet by either the Braves or the Mets, who are awaiting word from Glavine as to what he wants to do _ return to the Mets or go back to the Braves.
Time is becoming a factor with Glavine, who assured the Mets he would give them an answer before the Dec. 4-7 winter meetings in Orlando, where the Mets would presumably begin an all-out push for Barry Zito and/or another marquee pitcher if Glavine, a former two-time Cy Young Award winner who has 290 career regular-season wins, doesn’t return to New York.
Glavine spent last week vacationing with his family and discussing how important it would be for them to have him him home pitching again for the Braves (the family still lives in Alpharetta) rather than flying the kids back and forth to New York once the school year begins, as he’s done the past four years.
The nine-time NL All-Star pitched for the Braves from 1987-2002, had five seasons of 20 or more wins for Atlanta, and was the 1995 World Series MVP. He’s third in wins among active pitchers behind Roger Clemens (348) and former Braves bud Greg Maddux (332).
Glavine’s 131 strikeouts in 2006 moved him from 40th to 30th on the career list with 2,481.
After going 23-34 with a 4.25 ERA in a span of 78 starts from May 23, 2003 to Aug. 5, 2005, he has fashioned a 20-11 record and 3.26 ERA in his past 42 regular-season starts since making changes to his pitching approach and relying less on his old staples _ changeups and fastballs on the outer edge of the plate and beyond.
Despite his desire to return to the Braves and their desire to improve their pitching staff, it still seemed completely up in the air whether he would pitch for the Braves in 2007 or return for a fifth season with the New York Mets. He has said repeatedly it’ll be one or the other, which would eliminate the opportunity to create a bidding war by bringing in other teams.
The Mets haven’t made an offer because they’re waiting for Glavine to tell them whether he wants back with the Braves. I’d be surprised if the Mets offered him anything less than a two-year deal similar to the one Mike Mussina just got from Yanks ($23 mill for two years).
If the Braves don’t make a competitive offer, and soon, it may quickly become less likely he’ll be back with Atlanta.
They aren’t expected to offer him more than the $8 million that his friend, golf partner and ex-teammate John Smoltz will make in 2007, and Glavine almost certainly won’t get a no-trade clause from the Braves _ Schuerholz never has given them to other players, be they stars or journeymen.
The Mets gave him a blanket no-trade clause before, and would give him one again.
Why would the Braves be dragging their feet? I didn’t get anything on that from his agent, but I’d guess it’s because the Braves are trying to complete a trade to open up some payroll room or perhaps to open a spot in the rotation, or both.
2B Marcus Giles? Likely to be traded. Starter Tim Hudson? Still seems unlikely, to me, despite his often-mediocre performance in Hudson’s first two seasons with the Braves.
Schuerholz told me Tuesday: “[Hudson] set the bar pretty high when he was over [in Oakland]. But if you look at the body of work since he’d been here _ he’d be the first to say it’s not what he’d hoped or or what we expected, but measured against the industry _ wins, innings pitched, starts … there’s still some positives.”
And Hudson’s salary, which jumps from $6 mill in 2007 to $13 mill in each of the next two seasons (2008-09), no longer looks so daunting in light of huge contracts being awarded to pitchers this winter. “Less and less so with every passing day,” Schuerholz said.
Personally, I think the Braves are trying to pull off a trade before they can make a formal offer to Glavine. And they might also be trying to wait until after Saturday, too, because if the Mets decline to offer arbitration to Glavine by a Dec. 1 deadline, the Braves wouldn’t owe them the two draft picks that go to teams who lose Type A free agents after offering arbitration.
The Mets presumably wouldn’t offer arbitration, because Glavine would likely be awarded a salary well in excess of the $11 million or so that the Mets would prefer to pay him in 2007.
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Glavine: Make a decision, already
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This is a crappy blog I’m sending from the Las Vegas airport at about 9:40 p.m. Pacific Time on Sunday, before I catch a red-eye flight to the city of raised middle fingers.
OK, kidding _ about it being the city of raised fingers, not about this being a weak blog. At least at the start it feels like it’ll be weak, since I have nothing new to report in a week in which the Braves have done nothing in the way of making news. Maybe it’ll surprise me and turn out OK by the end _ the blog, that is.
Anyway … we should know something about which way Glavine’s leaning and/or whether the Braves seriously want him back this week, perhaps as soon as Monday.
Glavine’s agent didn’t call me back Sunday _ I called him on vacation; never say I’m not dedicated _ and he usually is good about answering or returning calls. So I’ll take that as the agent had nothing to say or was enjoying the end of his own holiday weekend.
Glavine was supposed to spend the week on vacation with his family discussing his Mets/Braves decision and ramications it could have with various family members, soliciting their opinions as to the importance of having him at home in Atlanta instead of flying the kids back and forth to New York, etc.
Agent Gregg Clifton told me last week that if Glavine decided he wanted to stay home and pitch for the Braves in ‘07, then the pitcher would tell the agent to contact the Braves and see if they wanted him and if they could make it happen.
The Mets will keep a spot for him, long as this doesn’t drag out too long.
A lot of you have asked me if I think Hudson would have to be traded to bring back Glavine. Not sure. I don’t think it’d be essential, since Hudson is “only” making $6 mill next season. But there will have to be some players moved, like Horacio Ramirez and Marcus Giles. I still think Giles will be traded regardless.
My gut feeling still is that Glavine is going back to the Mets, but I wouldn’t be shocked either way, really. Bottom line, I just don’t see him leaving at least $5 million, and probably a lot more, on the table. The Mets would likely make him a two-year offer worth perhaps $20-22 million, or a one-year deal with an easily vesting option if he stays healthy.
I know he’s implied or said he might retire after he gets 300 wins (he has 290), but I just find it hard to believe Glavine, if he has a year next season like he had in 2006, would walk away from another potential 10-15 win season and another $10 mill or so in salary in 2008.
I know, I know, he’s made a fortune and doesn’t need more, but still …
As for the Braves, I can’t see how they could offer Glavine more than $7-8 mill and a one-year contract, since Smoltz is only making $8 million and it sure wouldn’t look very good to offer Glavine more.
In the dearth of actual news last week, there were at least three major “rumors” involving Braves, but like most others this winter they’ve had no basis in fact. I’m not going to get into them or answer questions about every rumor, because there’s no sense in me adding validity to them by commenting on some that are just fantasy or pranks fabricated by people on other teams’ blogs.
If a rumor that I know has substance pops up, I’ll comment. I’ll give you my opinion, tell you what I know.
Just a couple of things that have been on my mind in light of all the absurd free-agent contracts that have already been signed well before the Dec. 4-7 winter meetings, which usually signals the start of the free-agent frenzy but will just be another busy week in the already ongoing process this year.
First of all, it seems even more likely that Andruw will test the free-agent waters next winter, and that he’ll be too expensive for the Braves to keep, just as Vernon Wells figures to be too rich for Toronto to retain (Wells also eligible for free agency after the 2007 season).
Wells and Andruw are far superior all-around outfielders than any of the guys who’ve been so richly rewarded this winter _ Alfonso Soriano (eight years, $136 million), Carlos Lee (six years, $100 million), Juan Pierre (five years, $44 million: ridiculous), Gary Matthews Jr. (five years, $50 million: unbelievable).
The bar’s been set at about $17 mill per season for start OFs in looong contracts by Carlos Beltran (two years ago), Soriano and Lee, so what’s Andruw worth? He’s a year younger than Soriano and has nine consecutive Gold Gloves, nine more than Soriano.
And by the way, does anybody realize that Gary Matthews Jr. _ pretty much a journeyman with a .249 career average until last year’s breakout with the Rangers _ is actually almost 2-1/2 years OLDER than Andruw? Seriouly. That’s amazing, to me. Matthews is 32, born in Aug. 1974. Andruw’s 29, born in April 1977.
Speaking of Andruw, the Angels’ signing Matthews might signal the end of the Angels’ interest in Jones. But I don’t think so.
After Matthews has a mediocre season, or just a good-but-not-great one, in 2007, the Angels could well be convinced by Scott Boras that they still need to spend, oh, $120 million over six years to sign Andruw Jones.
‘Druw is going to be described in detail as the Greatest Center Fielder of The Modern Era and the Best Free Agent on the Market next winter by Boras, who’ll put together an extensive, stat-filled book to support the claim. He did such a document for Greg Maddux and other clients when they hit free agency.
Boras told the Angels they needed to sign Beltran when he was a free agent, that he was the kind of player who would win them titles. They passed, and he went to the Mets, who won the NL East this year while the Angels failed to meet expectations. Angels owner Arte Moreno listens to Boras and will be reminded of what Beltran could have meant to them, and what Andruw could mean to them.
If not the Angels, then the Rangers or White Sox could be ready to pay Andruw the bucks that Boras believes he will command.
I still believe Andruw will be a Brave for all of 2007, barring an unlikely complete fall-from-contention by Atlanta before the trade deadline. My feeling is based on a couple of things _ the Braves aren’t actively shopping him (listening, maybe, but not actively shopping him) and he and Boras have implied strongly that Andruw would use his 10-and-5 veto power to block a trade.
Understand, they _ Boras and Andruw _ want him playing where he’s comfortable in 2007 in his free-agent walk year, not switching teams and certainly not switching leagues to the Angels or White Sox.
Of course, if they could go ahead and lock up a huge, rich contract extension with a team he’d be traded to, maybe they’d listen. But that seems unlikely.
The Braves would have to get a ton of talent back before they’d agree to a trade, and then Andruw would have to approve the trade and have the time for Boras to work out a long extension, and so on. Just seems like it’s way unlikely to happen in this offseason.
OK, gotta catch my flight. The blog wasn’t so bad, after all. Maybe? Hopefully?
Rock Chalk, Jayhawk. A beautiful thing.
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Dissecting trade rumors
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Fiscal insanity officially returned to baseball this weekend in the form of two free-agent contracts, one monstrous in every respect and one far smaller but nonetheless stunning.
Alfonso Soriano got an eight-year, $136 million contract from the Cubs and well-traveled 33-year-old reliever Justin Speier got a four-year, $18 million deal with the Angels.
Ground control to Major Tom, commencing countdown, engines on….
“To understate, it’s been a very aggressive market,” said Braves general manager John Schuerholz, conceding Monday that his team’s offseason pursuits may take longer than planned.
As is his custom, Schuerholz wouldn’t address any of the rumors circulating about several Braves including Marcus Giles, Tim Hudson and Andruw Jones.
But I can offer something here that should dampen the Hudson-to-Baltimore whispers. Remember that under the new labor agreement, players with multi-year contracts who are traded no longer have the right to demand a trade after the first year with their new team.
However — and this is a big however in Hudson’s case — players who signed those contracts before the new labor agreement are grandfathered in and retain the right to ask for a trade after the first year with their new team.
Considering Hudson’s — how should we say this? — rocky relationship with Leo Mazzone, the former Braves pitching coach now with the Orioles, I would venture to guess that the O’s would be taking a big risk of Hudson leaving Baltimore after just one season. He has three years left on his contract: $6 mill next season, $13 mill in 2008, $13 mill in 2009; plus a $12 mill option for 2010.
In this market, Hudson could make far more than those figures if he has a good season in 2007 and hit the free-agent market. Again, I can’t see him pitching under Mazzone for three or four more years by choice. And he’d have a choice.
Anyway, back to Schuerholz and my conversation with him Monday.
“It may take a little longer in an environment that’s been created like this, where there’s this feeding frenzy,” he said. “It may take us a little longer to get engaged in things we have outlined to do, but we still feel comfortable we can get things done that make us strong in the end.”
Even Schuerholz, who doesn’t offer much publicly in the way of opinion on other teams’ moves or the sport’s fiscal climate, seemed a bit shocked by how ginormous some contracts have been, without citing particular individuals or teams. He anticipated some huge contracts to be handed out, but …
“I don’t spend a lot of time studying market forces or things of that nature, but you’re aware of what’s going on,” he said. “You hear things and read blogs — I hate to admit it, but I do — and see what some people are predicting, but….”
But few believed it would get this crazy, this fast. Schuerholz included.
Lefty reliever Jamie Walker got a three-year, $12 million contract from the Orioles. No, seriously, he did. 3B Aramis Ramirez got $75 mill for five years to stay with the Cubs, and might have commanded $90 mill or more from a few other teams.
One-dimensional 38-year-old Frank Thomas gets a two-year, $18 mill deal from Toronto.
Ex-Braves utility men Mark DeRosa and Wes Helms got $13 million for three years (DeRosa, Cubs) and $5.45 million for two (Helms, Phillies), and 35-year-old ex-Braves backup catcher Henry Blanco gets $5.25 mill over two years, again from those suddenly spendthrift Cubbies, who appear to be happily running up the balance on the Tribune Co. Black Card, perhaps before the team’s sold.
Anyway, where does this leave the Braves, working with an $80 million payroll for the third consecutive year, with little hope of that amount rising while the team is in a tedious, drawn-out sale from Time Warner to Liberty Media?
Schuerholz insisted the booming free-agent salaries and the rising payroll of other teams won’t prevent the Braves from improving their pitching staff — his stated No. 1 offseason priority — and fielding a contending team next season. By some estimates, the Braves’ payroll will be near the middle of 30 teams in 2007.
“We’re happy with the way we operate, and we feel it provides us with every opportunity to put a winning team on the field,” said Schuerholz, who vowed after the Braves’ run of 14 consecutive division titles ended last season to do everything within his power to see that the failure wasn’t repeated.
“Last year being the most recent memory everybody has of us, I think that was a speed bump, a temporary slowdown,” he said of the 79-83 finish. “I think the talent we have and talent we’re going to put together next year are going to give us every opportunity to succeed.
“We’re not ever impacted to do something that we don’t plan to do or something that is influenced by the market. We’ll make decisions and do things when we think they are right.”
What about Andruw Jones? Yes, of course I asked him whether Soriano’s huge contract does anything to affect the Braves’ chances of trying to re-sign their nine-time Gold Glove center fielder, whose contract expires after the 2007 season.
“I have no idea,” Schuerholz said. “We’re going to make our decisions based on what we think is appropriate thing for the Atlanta Braves. And that’s what we’ll do.”
Whether the other side (Andruw and uber-agent Scott Boras) will see things similarly remains to be seen. If I had to guess, I’d say the chances of Andruw staying decreased further.
Soriano is a year older and has no Gold Gloves. He’s the flavor of the day, and his status as the charter member of the 40-40-40 (homers, steals, doubles), not to mention his surprisingly good defense in his first season in the outfield, helped him strike while the iron was blazing hot.
Talk about timing. If Jones were a free agent right now … well, let’s just say the Braves are glad he’s not.
Count on this: bidders spurned by Soriano, including the deep-pocketed Angels, are likely to raise their offers to the Braves for Jones. The White Sox are sure to come with a big offer.
Either of those teams, and a few others, could offer young ace pitchers who would undoubtedly bolster the Braves’ staff, and then it’ll be up to Schuerholz and assistant GM Frank Wren and manager Bobby Cox to decide if losing Andruw opens up too great a hole to make a run at a championship of any kind in 2007.
Of course, Andruw and Boras have already indicated the CF would exercise his full veto power on trades as a 10-and-5 player. He intends to stay in Atlanta for the 2007 season, and the Braves have indicated no desire to trade him.
So much of this is interwoven. Such as, if the Braves make a serious bid for Tom Glavine this week — again, Schuerholz wouldn’t offer even a hint of whether they will — their need for another starting pitcher decreases.
Does that mean they’d be more willing to trade Hudson? I doubt it, but it’d definitely make Horacio Ramirez expendable, and perhaps prospect Kyle Davies.
The Braves could get a solid reliever and perhaps another piece in return for second baseman Marcus Giles, who I still believe is almost certainly going to be traded before the end of the Dec. 4-7 winter meetings.
Adam LaRoche trade rumors? I can’t see that happening. As of this moment, I’ve heard no credible reason to believe the Braves are seriously considering trading their only proven first baseman, and one who could hit 30 homers and drive in 100 runs next year while playing very good defense for a relatively low salary in his first year of arbitration eligibility.
Of course, that could change quickly. If it does, I’ll let you know what I know.
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Would Glavine return without no-trade clause?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Just when you thought you’d heard enough _ maybe more than enough _ about Tom Glavine’s pending decision to pitch next season for the Mets or the Braves (assuming Atlanta makes him an offer), let me point out a factor that’s been entirely overlooked.
Yes, even though every news-gathering organization in New York and beyond has dissected his current contract and the family/money dynamics at play in The Decision, there still is something we’ve all missed. And here it is.
More than money, this could be a deal-breaker with the Braves (again, assuming they make him an offer next week). And remember, you read it here first:
No-trade clause.
Or rather, no no-trade clause.
As most of you know, the Braves don’t give no-trade clauses. One of the few teams that doesn’t. Or at least they haven’t, not under John Schuerholz.
Chipper didn’t get one, Andruw didn’t get one, Smoltz didn’t get one, not even when Chipper and Smoltz reworked their contracts in the past two years to help accommodate the Braves.
So there’s no reason to believe Glavine can get one from the Braves. And that could be a problem. A big problem. A deal-breaking problem (again, assuming the Braves make him an offer, which I’m fairly certain they will once the Mets formally decline their $14 million option on Glavine by Monday night’s midnight deadline).
Even if te 40-year-old Glavine were willing to accept $7 million from the Braves instead of, say, a two-year offer worth $20 million from the Mets, here’s why the no-trade clause could ultimately keep him from returning to Atlanta (and I’m assuming _ lots of assumptions, huh? _ that Glavine sincerely is debating whether to take less and return to Atlanta for the sake of his family, including children whose lives he’s tired of having to disrupt by flying them from the family home in suburban Atlanta to New York most weekends to see dad in-season).
The problem with no no-trade: Say Glavine gets a $7 mill offer from Atlanta _ and if you think they’re going to offer him more than the $8 mill salary that Smoltz will get in 2007, I’d beg to differ _ and let’s say he’s ready to leave all that money on the table from the Mets.
He has 290 wins, and has said he might retire if he gets his 300th win next year. But what if Glavine gets his 300th win in, say, early July. What if _ IF _ the Braves are 10 games out of the wild-care race before the trade deadline, and a desperate, contending team such as, oh, far-away Seattle or San Diego offers the Braves a dynamic young player or players for Glavine.
What’s to stop the Braves from trading him to Seattle? Then, Glavine’s a free agent at the end of the season and once again facing the likelihood of pitching for a new team far from home if he wants to continue pitching.
And let me go on record saying I really, strongly believe he will continue pitching if he’s still as effective as he’s been the past 1-1/2 seasons. Keep in mind, this is a guy who, since making significant changes his pitching style at midseason 2005, has fashioned a 20-11 record and 3.26 ERA in his past 42 regular-season starts.
The blood-clot scare at midseason turned out to be a relatively minor circulatory problem that’s been addressed and isn’t supposed to cause any more issues. There’s a good chance Glavine, who’s never had any serious arm problems or surgeries, could pitch at least 2-3 more seasons, with his smooth, effortless mechanics. He’s not a power pitcher, and he’s a lefty.
But back to the no-trade. Is he really ready to accept a deal without a no-trade clause? The Mets will give him one, no question. He had a blanket no-trade clause in his current contract with them. But the Braves … well, they don’t give no-trade clauses, as we said.
Gary Sheffield had to drop the no-trade clause in his contract when he was traded to the Braves. They’re going to give one to Glavine, after not giving one to Smoltz or Chipper? No. (Those guys and Andruw have no-trade protection now, but earned it the hard way _ 10 years of service and at least five with their current team).
Stay tuned. All of this will begin to become more clear no later than Tuesday, when other teams would be free to contact Glavine and his agent, Gregg Clifton, and start making offers.
He’s said numerous times that it’s Mets or Braves only, and Glavine would look pretty bad now if he doesn’t an about-face on that decision and decides to take a bigger, better offer from some team far away from his family’s home at the Country Club of the South.
And I don’t think he will. I think he’s sincere when he says it’ll be Braves or Mets. But when he says it’s 50-50, that might be wishful thinking on his part.
While I do believe he would take significantly less money to come back and finish his career with the Braves, I’m not so sure Glavine would trust the Braves without a no-trade clause. Not after the ugly negotiations with the team in 2002, and the subsequent mention of private moments his family shared with Schuerholz in Schuerholz’s book last spring (Glavine was irked by that).
Bottom line, too: The Mets need him worse than the Braves, who already have a rotation nearly complete with Smoltz, Tim Hudson, Mike Hampton and Chuck James.
There are rumors the Braves might trade Horacio Ramirez or Hudson. Ramirez, yes, I believe they’ll trade in a heartbeat if they get a good offer.
But Hudson? I don’t think so. Not now. Not with prices soaring for pitching. I think that Hudson/Texas rumor is more speculation than anything, from those who see Hudson’s relatively disappointing performance in two seasons with the Braves, and his backloaded contract that really gets pricey in 2008, and assume the payroll-conscious Braves would be ready to move him.
Fact is, the Braves have placed a priority on rebuilding their pitching staff this winter, and they’d open a hole by trading Hudson, who is only 31, gives you more than 200 innings a year, and could certainly rebound to win 15-18 games if he’s serious about his return-to-basics offseason workout regimen. He got more comfortable with pitching coach Roger McDowell as the season progressed, as did most other Braves pitchers in their first year working with McDowell.
Of course, he might not rebound. Hudson might be on an early career decline. But are the Braves ready to gamble on that? I doubt. Not without getting a lot in returning in a trade.
Given where the pitching market is going, with talk of more than $10 mill a year for Vicente Padilla and perhaps $18 million a year for Barry Zito, can the Braves afford to trade Hudson, then have him return to form of the guy who was the winningest pitcher in the AL over a five-year span, and who has shown flashes of brilliance during his time with the Braves? He’ll make $6 mill in 2007, then $13 mill in each of the 2008-09 seasons, with a $12 million option for 2010 and mere $1 mill buyout.
Hudson also got a $10 mill bonus when he signed his four-year $47 mill extension with the Braves, and that’s prorated over the contract for payroll purposes (I know some of our bloggers like to put together your own payroll calculations to figure out how much the Braves are spending, so don’t forget that bonus for your home accounting).
My gut feeling: 2B Marcus Giles will definitely be traded this winter. Lefty Horacio Ramirez probably will be traded, and former No. 1 pitching prospect Kyle Davies might also be included in a package if a team really wants him; Davies won’t be a deal-breaker for the Braves if another team wants him bad enough.
They’ll use trades of Giles, Ramirez and perhaps a couple of strong prospects, infielders or maybe even top-prospect catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, to fill most of their needs _ including at least two relievers, and perhaps a leadoff man who plays second base or left field, and yes, maybe another starter _ since the free-agent market appears too expensive for a team with an $80 mill payroll.
Oh, and that payroll, I’m told, probably can’t increase until the sale of the team is finalized, because Time Warner and Liberty Media have surely agreed to certain terms that include expectations of what payroll they’re inheriting, etc.
Anyway … it’s early. Stay tuned. Oh, and did we mention Andruw isn’t being shopped? Let’s throw that in there again. As of right now, the Braves have no intention of trading him or even shopping him. That won’t stop other teams from expressing interest, and the Braves aren’t going to hang up the phone if the White Sox or someone calls. But it’d be very surprising if the CF is traded….
Now, the important stuff: Rented two very good movies last week, “The King,” a gothic tale starring William Hurt (who’s phenomenal in the role) as a Baptist preacher in Texas whose family is torn apart when his son-out-of-wedlock, named Elvis, makes a surprising return upon his release from the Navy, and “The Devil and Daniel Johnston,” about the seriously messed-up artist/musician, which the NY Daily News aptly described as “a harrowing, hilarious and ultimately moving documentary film.” Great stuff. Disturbing, but great.
I’ve spent enough money at Tower’s going-out-of-business sale to put them back in business. Latest bounty at the slash-and-burn sale (they’re down to 40 percent off CDs now) was The Jam’s “Sound Affects” and seven blues and/or jazz CDs including Coltrane’s “Lush Life,” two by guitar god Albert King, and two by Nina Simone. I’d advise anyone in the Atlanta area to get over to the Tower store in Buckhead. Still plenty of great CDs and DVDs, and they’re getting more in all the time from their warehouses (since the entire chain is going under, they’re getting rid of everything).
Only new _ or rather, recently released _ CDs I got are two really good ones Lucero’s “Rebels, Rogues and Sworn Brothers,” former Wilco member Jay Bennett’s “The Magnificent Defeat.”…
Oh, did anyone see “The Office” this week? Best episode ever, possibly? I was on the floor, laughing. Now that NBC is putting My Name is Early, The Office, Scrumbs and 30 Rock on the same night, Thursday will finally be a must-see comedy night again. All great shows.
Schuerholz, Wren have busy week ahead
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
He won’t stop to mill around in the lobby with reporters and agents at the Naples Grande Resort this week, because John Schuerholz doesn’t do that schmooze-with-the-enemy thing the way that many new-age GMs do.
But rest assured, the dean will be working hard in the Braves’ suite during the GM meetings, alongside top assistant and financial whiz Frank Wren, their big board up in the middle of the room listing free agents and other potentially available players.
I think some outside observers get an impression Schuerholz might be slowing down a bit simply because the Braves aren’t at the middle of a lot of the rumored pursuits of marquee free agents and other big-salaried trade bait.
He hasn’t slowed down, from what other team officials tell me. And between Schuerholz and Wren, and their special assistants and scouts, the Braves are not leaving any stone unturned in their quest to fix the holes and problems that kept last year’s team out of the playoffs.
(No, they can’t do anything to prevent injuries to key players, but the Braves can make sure they have a bit more depth to prevent the debacle that ensued last year when a handful of pitchers including would-be closer Chris Reitsma struggled and/or went directly on the disabled list, crippling the team.)
With a stagnant $80 million payroll _ it could be argued payroll has gone down three straight years, when you factor in inflation and rising payrolls of other teams _ the Braves are limited in their involvement with the free-agent markets, since they can’t realistically throw the huge offers at the likes of Alfonso Soriano, Barry Zito, Jason Schmidt, et al, that so many teams can with payrolls anywhere from $30 mill to $120 million higher than the Braves’ payroll.
So they are forced to be creative and also to hope that some players will take a little less to play for Bobby Cox, which other players contend is a huge draw for free agents _ not enough to offset large differences in offers, but enough to convince some to take a bit less to come to Atlanta or stay with the Braves.
Anyway, this week and this winter the Braves are exploring trades more so than free agency, since the latter market is so pricey _ and getting pricier, with the new labor agreement in place and the luxury tax threshold raised to $148 million and so many teams enjoying record revenues and revenue-sharing.
And this is where Schuerholz/Wren are often at their best. Their trade for Tim Hudson two winters ago was a prime example. Even though Hudson has been something of a disappointment with the Braves, everyone in baseball at that time, especially the many other teams that pursued him, seemed surprised by how little the Braves gave up to get the then-Oakland ace.
On the other hand, this can also be where Schuerholz/Wren are left in the cold at times, because they simply will not be fleeced in a deal, and they’ll drive and drive until sometimes a targeted player is traded elsewhere.
This time around they’re trying to fill holes in the bullpen, adding at least two proven arms to shore up a major weakness from last season. They took the first and biggest step by re-signing closer Bob Wickman, but the Braves want to assure the bridge from starters to Wickman is strengthened, and they could take another step in that regard by trading Marcus Giles to San Diego for right-hander Scott Linebrink, a hard-throwing, reliable setup man whose $2.15 million salary next season is very reasonable (barely more than Reitsma’s last year).
(Speaking of Reitsma, the Braves say they haven’t yet decided yet if the rehabbing right-hander will be part of their team next season, though he’s expected to be ready to pitch this spring.)
Though Linebrink hasn’t served as a closer, everyone believes he has the stuff to step in if needed, even for an extended stretch in the event of an injury.
Some Braves fans don’t take into account the complexities of the situation when they ask, why not trade injury-prone Chipper Jones instead of Giles, the undersized, spunky favorite of many?
I’ll reiterate a response I posted in the last blog, for those who missed it:
Despite enduring his third straight injury-plagued season, Chipper still managed to hit .324 with 26 homers, 86 RBIs and 87 runs in 110 games, with a team-high 1.005 OPS.
More importantly, he has full no-trade protection as a 10-and-5 guy (10 years service in majors, at least five with current team). And he’s got $11 mill guaranteed each of the next two years.
So it’s not as easy as trading baseball cards or making fantasy-league trades, even if the Braves were trying to trade him (and from everything I’m told, they’re not and never have tried to trade Chipper).
Giles, by the way, also missed 21 games last season with an assortment of injuries. And he hit .262 with 11 homers, 60 RBIs, 97 runs and a .728 OPS while playing 31 games more than Chipper.
For the sake of comparison: Chipper: .324-26-86 with 1.005 OPS in 110 games; Giles: .262-11-60 with .728 OPS in 141 games.
To recap: Chipper has full no-trade protection, is 33 years old, hasn’t been healthy for a full season since 2003, is guaranteed $22 mill over next two seasons (and likely headed to the Hall of Fame in a Braves uniform someday), and as far as anybody I’ve talked to knows, doesn’t have any teams calling the Braves inquiring about picking up his salary, much less sending them any talent back in a trade.
Giles is 27, will make $5.5-6 mill next year as a fifth-year arbitration player, and has several teams interested in trading for him and giving the Braves talent in return. And plays a position where the Braves have some replacements ready to step in.
Regarding second base, the Braves would consider several options if Giles is traded, and they might consider several options right up through spring training, after seeing how the likes of prospects Martin Prado and Yunel Escobar look there in spring games.
Willy Aybar is probably not as serious an option, since he’s more likely to remain a utility player simply because the Braves need a backup third baseman who can play plenty when Chipper is out of the lineup.
Another potential option: Kelly Johnson, a former shortstop-turned-outfielder who missed the 2006 season with elbow problems that eventually required Tommy John surgery. He showed flashes of big offensive potential as a rookie in 2005, and the Braves think that moving him back to the infield might potentially fill a need while also preserving his arm, which he reinjured last spring making throws from the outfield after having the elbow ‘scoped the previous October.
Johnson isn’t going to win Gold Gloves in the outfield or infield, but he’s worked with coach Glenn Hubbard recently on his second-base defense and the Braves see some potential there, at least as an option. Still, Johnson as the regular second baseman and/or hitting leadoff, I’d classify at this juncture as a longshot.
(As a public service, I’ll pause here to allow you to refill your glass or mug, go get the mail, feed the dog, change the CD, or empty the trash.)
OK, welcome back. Now where were we? Oh, yeah…
Another option might be 36-year-old Craig Counsell, who has a knack for making big contributions to playoff teams, and who’s always admired Cox and the Braves organization since his days with the 1997 World Series champion Marlins.
If Giles is traded, the Braves will obviously need another leadoff man (he hated the job anyway). One option they’ll probably exlore further is free agent Dave Roberts, the 34-year-old outfielder who made only $2.25 mill with San Diego last season and hit .293 with a .360 OBP, career-high 49 steals and 13 triples.
But at least 10 other teams are interested in him, and in this market Roberts might double his salary.
The rumors about Andruw Jones have finally began to taper off, indicating that more folks believe the Braves, Jones and agent Scott Boras when they hear the team isn’t trying to trade him and that the player and agent say Jones fully intends to play the 2007 season in Atlanta, where he’s comfortable and probably has his best chance to put up strong numbers in a free-agent walk year.
The Braves say they want to re-sign him, but it remains to be seen whether Jones will take a steep hometown discount to stay here (indications are, he will not accept a steep discount, if any discount at all).
But if the Braves wanted to be creative, if they really wanted to make sure they’d get something besides draft picks for losing Jones, and if Jones wanted to go somewhere where he could put up even bigger numbers in his walk year than he could in his Atlanta comfort zone, then how about this:
Houston has money to spend, has plenty of relievers, and has a good, young center fielder who can hit leadoff. They have a ballpark with a short left-field porch where Jones could realistically hit 50-60 homers a year for the next five.
So maybe Houston would listen, and maybe Jones would consider, a deal that would send the nine-time Gold Glove winner to Houston in exchange for Willy Taveras (.284 average with 67 stolen bases during 2005-06 seasons) and setup man Dan Wheeler or Chad Qualls, plus perhaps a prospect. Whaddya think?
Then again, Taveras has a .329 career on-base percentage, so he might not be such a great option at leadoff. Tell you what, I’ll just let Schuerholz/Wren find a solution.
Giles to San Diego? Not so fast
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
When San Diego surprised everyone Wednesday by trading promising young second baseman Josh Barfield to Cleveland for a top third-base prospect and a reliever, my immediate thought was: They’re clearing a spot for Marcus Giles.
Not so fast, I was told by a person I trust in San Diego. The Padres are considering Marcus and several other trade options, and might even consider bringing back free agent Mark Loretta, the second baseman they had before Barfield replaced him.
Barfield is good and might be great someday. He’s only 23, plays strong defense, and hits for average and pretty good power. But the Padres believe this third-base prospect they got from Cleveland, 25-year-old Kevin Kouzmanoff (“Kouz” for our purposes; don’t know if that’s his nickname, but it should be) is ready to step in and give them a power bat, something they were determined to add this winter.
He’s the guy who, after being brought up last season, became the first player to hit a grand slam on the first pitch he saw in the majors. This after batting a combined .379 with 22 homers and 75 RBI in 94 games between Double-A and Triple-A before his September callup. Point is, he’s good.
The other guy they got, 25-year-old reliever Andrew Brown, was out of options with Cleveland (don’t let anyone tell you options aren’t important to preserve as long as possible). He was more a throw-in part of this deal; Kouz was the key.
Anyway, as for Giles, the Padres might possibly be downplaying their need to get a second baseman right away _ they keep saying there’s a glut and they can get one later _ because they’re posturing and want to the Braves or another team to trade them one straight-up for Scott Linebrink, the reliever that San Diego seems to be pumping up in order to trade him.
The Padres talk about him as though Linebrink is as valuable as a decent starting pitcher, like he’s worth more than any other setup man and blah blah blah. I’m not seeing what they’re trying to sell. He’s good, granted. Real good. But he’s a setup guy and hasn’t really shown the ability to be a closer if that’s what was needed later.
And look at his numbers last season, how they tailed off right about the time the Braves were talking to the Padres and they Padres were trying to get Wilson Betemit (San Diego claims they wouldn’t trade Linebrink for Betemit, straight up, but I don’t think that’s the case.)
Linebrink was 6-2 with a 2.62 ERA and .199 opponents’ average in 42 appearances through July 17, but 1-2 with a 4.94 ERA and .299 opponents’ average in 31 games the rest of the way. Huge difference.
While his save opportunities have generally come in less-than-favorable conditions (often the case for saves with setup guys or middle guys), it’s worth noting he’s blown 19 of 22 career save opportunities, including 9 of 11 last season.
As for Giles, there’s supposedly mixed opinions among Padres executives, some of whom believe that having two of the, uh, colorful Giles brothers in one clubhouse might be one too many.
Others believe Marcus might take a significant discount to sign a multi-year extension with the hometown Padres, and that playing alongside his brother might rejuvenate his performance.
He could make about $5.5 mill or more next season as a fifth-year arbitration guy, but might possibly take less on the front end of a multi-year deal with escalating salaries. Still, he’s not going to be cheap, by any means. He’s one of the best all-around 2Bs in the game, or at least was until last season.
There are concerns or raised eyebrows, however you want to put it, about his reduced power numbers and OPS. He’s too young to be on the downside, but he simply wasn’t the threat last year that he’s been in the past.
I wrote this on the last blog, but I think it’s worth repeating here. After checking his stats, it’s interesting to note how relatively poor his performance has been at NL West venues:
At San Diego’s Petco Park, he’s hit .209 (9-for-43) with one double, no homers, two RBIs, 12 K and a .510 OPS in 10 games.
At Colorado’s Coors Field, he’s hit .221 (17-for-77) with five doubles, two homers, six RBIs and a .667 OPS in 19 games.
At Arizona’s Chase Field (formerly Bank One Ballpark), he’s hit .227 (10-for-44) with no extra-base hits and a .585 OPS in 13 games.
And at Dodger Stadium he’s hit .255 (14-for-55) with two doubles, one RBI and a .630 OPS in 15 games. Obviously, these are relatively small samples, but oddly these have been four of his worst NL parks.
He’s been better at the other current NL West park, San Francisco’s AT&T (formerly Pac Bell) _ .273 (15-for-55) with one homer, two RBIs and an .803 OPS in 16 games. But still not anywhere near his best.
Coincidence or not, it’s interesting that he simply hasn’t performed well on the West Coast. The exception is San Diego’s old stadium, Qualcomm (formerly Jack Murphy; man do I hate all the name changes), where he hit .471 (8-for-17) with three doubles, a homer and seven RBIs in 6 games.
Maybe the team that should be going after him is the Chicago Cubs _ he’s hit .389 (21-for-54) with seven extra-base hits (two homers), 14 RBIs and a 1.070 OPS in 14 games at Wrigley, and .323 with 10 extra-base hits (four homers) and a 1.020 OPS at Milwaukee’s Miller Park, and .367 with a .997 OPS at Pittsburgh’s PNC Park…
The only place in the Central where he hasn’t ranked is is Houston’s Minute Maid, where he’s hit .231 (9-for-31) with two RBIs and a 12 K in 11 games.
Anybody notice a pattern? The notoriously hard-swinging Giles has his worst numbers at the NL’s most hitter-friendly parks _ Coors, Minute Maid and whatever they’re calling Arizona’s place this season. Coincidence, or changing approach and swinging for the fences in the homer-friendly places?
Anyway, it’ll be interesting to see how this San Diego thing plays out, and whether they’re just posturing about the glut of 2Bs so they can try to get Giles for less than the Braves are asking. The one thing I was told by someone with the Braves is that teams seem ready to make moves earlier this year, perhaps as soon as next week during the GM meetings and well before next month’s Winter Meetings.
Stay tuned.
Salty shuts ‘er down, Escobar goes en fuego
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If the Braves are looking to trade Yunel Escobar, the offers could increase with the Cuban shortstop prospect’s sensational performance in the Arizona Fall League, where he leads the league with a .444 average, including seven hits and a grand slam in two games Thursday and Friday. Yowza.
Catching prospect Jarrod Saltalamacchia dominated the AFL with three homers and 12 RBIs in his first six games, but he was shut down and sent home to Florida after straining a groin muscle and then injuring a hamstring before he could get back in the Peoria Javelinas lineup.
The Braves say they’re just being cautious in resting “Salty? the remainder of the fall to get him ready for spring training. Since we’re not there in Arizona and reports out of there are so sketchy, we’ll take their word for it.
Salty hit .565 (13-for-23) with three bombs, 12 steaks (that’s RBIs; I want to use a lot of annoying baseball lingo this winter to spice things up), five walks, only two strikeouts and a 1.655 OPS in his six games before injury, a complete reversal of the switch-hitter’s disappointing season at Double-A Mississippi (.230, 9 HRs, 39 RBIs, .733 OPS, 71 Ks in 313 at-bats, ugh).
But before he left Arizona, he apparently handed off the AFL star baton to Escobar, who has grabbed it and run with it, to say the least.
If the Braves really are actively shopping him _ I don’t know if they are, or are just listening to potential offers; probably the latter _ they might take a step back and reconsider before letting go of this dynamic talent.
After a down year at Double-A (what was it about Jeff Blauser’s ol’ Miss team this year that sucked the stats out of two of Atlanta’s top prospects?), the chattering, swaggering Escobar is rebuilding his top-prospect status out west.
Escobar went 4-for-4 with three RBIs Friday in a Peoria Javelinas win vs. the crosstown rival Peoria Saguaros (when these two clubs get together, you can toss out the records) after going 3-for-5 with a grand slam on his 24th birthday Thursday in a win vs. Mesa.
Escobar is 28-for-63 with only five strikeouts and a 1.049 OPS. Now, it’s not uncommon to put up big numbers in the Fall League, what with the weather, stadiums and sometimes suspect pitching (it’s a league of mainly A-ball and Double-A prospects), but what Escobar is doing must be recognized.
Scouts say he’s “centering? everything he hits, just raking out there. After seeing him last spring training, I can’t say I’m surprised by anything he’s done except by how much he struggled this year at Mississippi (.264, 2 HRs, 7 SBs in 16 attempts, 20 GIDPs, etc), though he did have a solid .361 OBP there.
Anyway, seeing the kid (if we can call a 24-year-old a kid), you can’t help but be impressed. He’s already developed physically, looks capable of hitting a ton of line drives and possibly more homers. He’s full of confidence, as evident by the loud chattering he does almost constantly in the field (he’s cut back on this slightly since he was hitting .313 and entertaining the home fans two summers ago at Rome, partly because the Braves let him know he might want to tone it down as he rose higher in the organization, since opposing teams would take offense, which a few teams did in Double A).
While not as naturally smooth defensively as younger SS prospect Elvis Andrus, Escobar is much closer to being ready for the majors and is a better, maybe far better, offensive force than the smaller, light-hitting Andrus.
Where might Escobar fit? Well, if they don’t trade him, the Braves could groom him for shortstop after Renteria leaves. They could trade Edgar a year from now and insert Escobar, perhaps. Or they could play him some more at 2B and see if he’s got the goods for that position, though he has played only limited amounts at 2B and 3B and doesn’t appear to have the power potential to play the hot corner (more annoying lingo) after Chipper’s done.
Or, they could throw him into a trade and all our talk about him will have been rendered moot, much as it was with Wilson Betemit….
OK, on to couple other matters: Not surprisingly, it really does look like Glavine is going to stay with the Mets, for two years and more than $20 mill. Braves wouldn’t even consider competing with that; as we’ve said all along, Glavine would have to take a large discount if he really wanted to pitch at home for the Braves and win his 300th with a tomahawk across his chest….
Nothing new to report yet on Andruw, other than he’s hitting homers in Japan and winning awards in the U.S. and will need a Brinks Truck instead of a home safe after his next contract.
Read this quote that Bruce Bochy, who’s managing the major league team in Japan, gave to MLB.com’s Ian Browne about Andruw, and tell me if you can’t see San Francisco in a bidding war with the Angels and others for Andruw:
“He just has a lot of fun playing the game,” Bochy said. “You get to see what Bobby Cox gets to see on a daily basis. We’re talking about the best center fielder in the game. They are remarkable plays he can make and he did tonight. He saved us. Plus, you’re looking at a guy who does a lot of damage with the bat. He’s one of the best players in the game. For him to make this trip, it’s an honor for me to have him on my club and manage him.?
The Brinks truck won’t fit in Andruw’s massive garage that’s already filled with European sports cars, but I’m sure he can add on….
Oh, speaking of Arizona Fall League and Braves youngsters, a couple of their pitchers haven’t fare so well out west: Joey Devine 3 games, 4 innings, 3 runs, 5 walks (yikes), 2 strikeouts. And Anthony Lerew, 0-2 with 5.40 ERA in seven relief appearances, with 13 hits, 6 runs, 6 walks, 5 K in 10 innings (to me, something just seems to be missing there, with Lerew. Too erratic.)…
And one more thing about Gold Glove outfielders, welcome back, New York Mets. Carlos Beltran won a Gold Glove, the first Mets OF to win one since Tommy Agee in … 1970!…
My last thoughts and lasting impressions from covering the NLCS and World Series:
The impossibly orange-blonde spectacle that is Donald Trump’s hair, made even more conspicuous by the black overcoat he wore over his dark suit (always a suit) at the NLCS games at Shea. And the impossibly stunning young blonde on his arm. Oh, and “I’m superior? look he gave the merely wealthy who tapped him on the shoulder to shake his hand in his seats behind home plate….
At one of the NLCS games at Shea, when the crowd sang en masse to to Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run” before the Mets batted in bottom of third inning, after Juan Encarnacion had grounded into a broken-bat double play to end the top of the third with two on….
Again, at Shea, when the crowd, 56,000-strong, went right into the “Jo-say …. Jo-say, Jo-say, Jo-say? soccer-style sing-along as he led off an inning….
The white-towel waving crowd in Detroit. Impressive crowd respone in freezing drizzle….
Oh, and the girl behind the counter cranking Rick James’ “Mary Jane” on the store speakers at the Motown Records souvenir store in the Detroit airport … at 5 a.m.! I loved it _ the song, the store, the girl … so much so that I bought a Motown records T-shirt from her….
The receipt I just put in my expense report from Starbucks in St. Louis airport, with the time stamp: 4:59 a.m. I was first in line when they opened, and asked if they’d hook me up to a espresso IV. They couldn’t do it….
The price of a one-way ticket from St. louis to Atlanta when purchased two days before _ check it yourselves. That’s what happens when the AL team can’t even extend the series to six games and get it back to Detroit….
Speaking of Detroit, the Detroit Cobras are playing at Smith’s Olde Bar tonight, and they’re well worth the price of admission. Great band that combines garage-rock with R&B for a unique, greasy-good sound. I’m there…
As great as the My Morning Jacket live double-CD is, the Sadies’ live double-CD is probably even better. The guest performers include Neko Case, Kelly Hogan (those two again … ahh), Jon Spencer, Steve Albini, Garth Hudson, Blue Rodeo, etc….
And finally, I just had to include this story from the Onion, which is certainly funnier than anything I could write about the Series:
CARDINALS APOLOGIZE FOR WINNING WORLD SERIES
ST. LOUIS — Calling Friday night’s victory on baseball’s grandest stage “a terrible mistake,” members of the St. Louis Cardinals issued a formal apology for making the playoffs, winning the World Series, and depriving baseball fans everywhere of a season featuring the kind of heartwarming, storybook ending to which they have grown accustomed in recent years.
“I’m still struggling to understand how this could have happened,” said a sober Tony La Russa during a press conference following Game 5. “It seemed all but certain coming into this series that we were going to be a part of something truly special, that we would easily put the finishing touches on a magical season that inspired millions of fans around the country, but instead we somehow ended up winning.”
“It’s disappointing, to say the least,” La Russa added. “We were rooting for the Detroit Tigers just like everyone else.”
According to Cardinals players, they “tried absolutely everything” in their pursuit to earn the Tigers their first world championship since 1984, including eliminating the far more dangerous New York Mets in the NLCS, entering the series completely unrested after a grueling seven-game series, starting a rookie pitcher with five career wins in Game 1 in Detroit, and postponing Game 4 due to rain in the hopes that an off day would swing the momentum back in the Tigers’ favor.
“I don’t know what we could’ve done differently,” second-baseman Ronnie Belliard said. “We gave the Tigers every opportunity to win ballgames, but when their pitchers keep making errors on simple ground balls, what are we supposed to do, pretend we forgot the rules and start running to third base?”
Desperate for a Tigers win in Game 2, the Cardinals chose to overlook the fact that starter Kenny Rogers was pitching with the aid of a foreign substance on his left hand.
“Of course we all knew it was pine tar, but it seemed like they were finally finding their rhythm… We certainly didn’t want to shake their confidence, so we decided to just let it go,” La Russa said. “Frankly, if the umpires didn’t bring it up, we probably would’ve let him pitch with it the whole game.”
After the final out of the World Series was recorded, the stunned Cardinals retreated to their dugout and watched with disappointed, glazed-over expressions as the Detroit Tigers—the feel-good team of the season whom everyone expected to win it all—packed up their equipment in the dugout across the diamond.
According to Albert Pujols, some teammates took the World Series victory harder than others.
“For a lot of young guys like [Anthony] Reyes and [Yadier] Molina, this was their first chance to see an exciting, inspirational, and truly deserving team win a championship,” Pujols said. “Even though the outcome of this series has definitely left a bad taste in my mouth, I can handle it, because I was there in 2004 when we were able to see Red Sox beat us in the World Series. Man, what an incredible feeling that was… Just watching those guys celebrate, I really felt like I was seeing history unfold before my eyes. It was definitely my greatest baseball moment.”
“I hope we have the chance to see something like that again next year,” Pujols added.
Reporters and sportswriters around the nation were critical of many of La Russa’s successful managerial decisions, second-guessing such effective moves as leaving staff ace Chris Carpenter in for more than five innings in Game 3, and failing to bench third-baseman Scott Rolen, who batted a team-high .421 in the series. La Russa, however, said that things would be different next year.
“I think I speak for my players, the front office, the coaching staff, and every fan in St. Louis when I say that all season long, we had just one goal: bringing a championship to the great city of Detroit,” La Russa said. “And even though we failed this time around, we will be committed to achieving similar goals next season.”
In the somber clubhouse following the victory, Cardinals centerfielder Jim Edmonds admitted that “the wrong team won,” but said that the outcome of the 2006 World Series is “just something we’re unfortunately going to have to live with.”
“Nobody thought we could do this, nobody thought we could stop this powerhouse team that beat the odds to go from worst to first and rolled through the playoffs looking like they were invincible,” Edmonds said. “And we thought we had taken every possible step to prove them right.”
“We shocked the world,” Edmonds added. “We’re sorry.?
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